stall

November 13, 2018

I travelled a lot in October. I soaked up inspirations at museums, in class at Arrowmont and while teaching and gathering with friends. It was a long time away from the studio.

During that time I brought my Bernina to our local dealer for maintenance. So my main machine is missing in action. It takes my dealer 5 WEEKS to finish the maintenance. 5 WEEKS. How crazy is that? And, unfortunately for us in Memphis there is no valid alternative at this time. I have 2 weeks to go before I get it back.

This hole in my table normally houses a Bernina 740.

Then, upon my return I decided to reconfigure a few things with the help of my very wonderful husband. He is helping me install more design wall space which meant that the current space was disassembled and piled onto the work tables. The place is a mess.

Styrofoam insulation board and felt will give me a space of about 7 x 14 feet to play with. Then with a roller track above the wall another 8 x 8 space in two panels that will move side to side. Space, glorious space.

I am at sea

untethered

wondering

Squirrel!

October 29, 2018

You know how mild-mannered dogs quickly become pogo sticks when a squirrel hops by? That’s how I felt this past week. Oooh! look at that! Oh my! Look at this! Squirrel! Bear! Food!

Mozart, Hendrix, Simon, Florence and the Machine. I listened to a music mix on the way home from Arrowmont as a way to mirror what my brain was doing. Mitchell, Dylan, Rice, Morissette, Danny the Dog, Cohen, Young, Chopin, Sieber, Gabriel, Bowie, Einaudi, Glass, Hunger. I am a creature of variety. And surprise. And drama, and delight.

The workshops at Arrowmont give each artist ample space to work and display their stitching.

Drama and delight. That’s what my students brought to me. Their fearlessness and sense of humor gave us all a chance to laugh, contemplate, and compare our thoughts. The group was as diverse as the music I listened to on the way home.

Thank you, Arrowmont for the opportunity to teach these talented stitchers. And thank you Holly, Sam, Cindy, Jane, Carlie, Martha, Ellen, Katie, Sharon, Linda, Lynn, Claire, Alex, and Holly for sharing your insights, your struggle and your stick-to-it-tive-ness with the class. We filled the walls with inspiration.

Stitching begins with drawing. Not difficult drawing, just simple lines that talk.

Here are some of the experiments we tried this past week.

Davis, Coltrane, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Sinatra, Stones, Hooker, Dead can Dance, Cline, Piaf, Pavarotti, Bono, Morrison, Lamb, Rachmaninoff, Gerrard, Calexico and by all means….Waits.

World of Threads festival

October 12, 2018

The work travels. I pack it up, seal the box and do a little safety dance when I drop it off at the shipping center. It seems odd to part with them for any length of time. But I like the idea that more people will see them. They have a life of their own.

I have six pieces in the World of Threads Festival, a contemporary fibre and textile art exhibit that opens this month in Canada. The festival features 303 artworks by 65 artists from Canada, Denmark, England, Hungary, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Russia and the USA. I was chosen as one of the artists with a solo show in the corridor galleries. I won’t be able to attend the opening but I will see the show in November.

Everything I know about this show makes it a must see event. There are major installations, intimate threadwork pieces, cutting edge quilts and other eye-opening fiber works. If you are anywhere near Oakville (a short drive from Toronto) please plan on attending. Click here to learn more about it.

Or choose this link to download a complete brochure.

Opening day: Sat. Oct. 20, 2018 1:00 – 3:30 pm.

World of Threads Festival

Queen Elizabeth Park Community
& Cultural Centre
2302 Bridge Road Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

Dates: Sat. Oct. 13 - Sun. Nov. 25, 2018
Hours: Mon. – Sat. 10:00 am – 6:00 pm. Sun. 12:00 – 5:00 pm
Admission: FREE

For an up close and personal look at the pieces shown here go to Oakville. Maybe I’ll see you there in November.

Disruptors, 71" x 45"

Disruptors, side 2

Focus on Something Else, 32” x 32”, Paula Kovarik

October is a busy month

October 1, 2018

October is one of my favorite months. And this one is no exception. I can open my studio windows to get an occasional breeze. The gingko trees are about to turn into yellow clouds. And the studio is awash in preparations. It’s a month of anticipation and excitement.

I’m preparing class materials for two workshops at Arrowmont this month. A powerpoint show, class notes, exercise materials and a few surprises. First I’ll be attending a workshop by Beatrice Coron on MASKING AND REVEALING: THE WILD SIDE OF PAPER CUTTING for a week and then I teach my FOLLOW THE THREAD workshop the week after that. Two full weeks in the mountains playing at art. What could be better than that?

The workshops at Arrowmont allow for everyone to spread out and stretch their creative minds.

While I am at Arrowmont The World of Threads Festival, a contemporary fibre and textile art exhibit opens in Canada. It features 303 artworks by 65 artists from Canada, Denmark, England, Hungary, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Russia and the USA. I was chosen as one of the artists with a solo show in the corridor galleries. I won’t be able to attend the opening but I will see the show in November.

02-solo-shows-installations-world-of-threads-festival-18-email.jpg

Everything I know about this show makes it a must see event. If you are anywhere near Oakville (a short drive from Toronto) please plan on attending. Click here to learn more about it.

Or choose this link to download a complete brochure.

Opening day: Sat. Oct. 20, 2018 1:00 – 3:30 pm.

World of Threads Festival

Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre
2302 Bridge Road Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

Dates: Sat. Oct. 13 - Sun. Nov. 25, 2018
Hours: Mon. – Sat. 10:00 am – 6:00 pm. Sun. 12:00 – 5:00 pm
Admission: FREE

On Collaboration

September 26, 2018

I went to an artist talk last night that reinforced my ideas about collaboration. He said that if you put a professional engineer and artist in the same room to solve a problem the outcome won’t be the same as having an artist with a pretty good knowledge of engineering figure it out herself.

Each time I have been involved in a team approach to a design solution I am energized by the discussions, motivated by the goal and hopeful about the outcome. Yet, there are challenges. Every step along the way brings a set of compromises and a new way of looking at those goals and outcomes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

What have I learned? I prefer doing it all myself.

I can take the blame, find the alternatives and be responsible for the outcome. I can throw it under the table when it doesn’t work out. I can meet my own timetable. I can re-evaluate without stepping on toes. Not so easy when others are involved.

But this process of locking my doors to others is self-limiting. Pushing away my expectations while entertaining alternative ideas broadens my vision of the end product.